PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. (NYSE:SQM)

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lessened its holdings in Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. (NYSE:SQM) by 9.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,346 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 1,303 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in Sociedad Quimica y Minera were worth $491,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in SQM. US Bancorp DE increased its holdings in Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 6.0% in the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 9,315 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $370,000 after purchasing an additional 526 shares in the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its position in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 79,047 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,874,000 after buying an additional 821 shares during the period. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise acquired a new stake in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in the first quarter valued at about $34,000. Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 10.0% during the 4th quarter. Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,206 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $407,000 after acquiring an additional 1,023 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc lifted its position in Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 728.0% during the 1st quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,242 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 1,092 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 12.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $55.00 to $45.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Scotiabank lowered their price target on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sociedad Quimica y Minera currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $42.50.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Stock Performance

Sociedad Quimica y Minera stock opened at $46.44 on Thursday. Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. has a 52 week low of $29.36 and a 52 week high of $47.39. The company has a current ratio of 2.88, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The stock has a market cap of $13.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.01 and a beta of 1.03. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $36.90 and a 200-day moving average of $37.18.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE:SQM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.48 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by ($0.15). Sociedad Quimica y Minera had a net margin of 13.45% and a return on equity of 11.71%. The company had revenue of $1.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.05 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($3.04) earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. will post -1.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Sociedad Quimica y Minera

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile SA operates as a mining company worldwide. The company offers specialty plant nutrients, including sodium potassium nitrate, specialty blends, and other specialty fertilizers under Ultrasol, Qrop, Speedfol, Allganic, Ultrasoline, ProP, and Prohydric brands. It also provides iodine and its derivatives for use in medical, agricultural, industrial, and human and animal nutrition products comprising x-ray contrast media, biocides, antiseptics and disinfectants, pharmaceutical intermediates, polarizing films for LCD and LED screens, chemicals, organic compounds, and pigments, as well as added to edible salt to prevent iodine deficiency disorders.